Wishes Are Children
by minorshan
Summary: An alternate version of 6X10. What if it was Princess Emma, troubled by her dreams of the strange other world that Rumplestiltskin had predicted, actually makes a wish? How will this effect the people of Storybrooke as they try to avert Emma's impending death while dealing with a group of heroes that see the world as simply a black and white battle between Good and Evil?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _Should anyone still be following my other couple lengthy stories - if you still exist, bless you - don't worry, I'm still working on them. This plot bunny just wouldn't leave me alone. It won't be very long and is mostly done already. To everyone: thanks for checking it out! This is an alternate take on the 6x10 episode "Wish You Were Here"._

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Upon a Star**

"Make a wish!"

Emma bent over towards the blue star-shaped candle and squeezed her eyes shut. Normally the princess was hard-pressed to have something to wish for - at least since she'd grown up and dollies and ponies weren't such an obsession. But the events of the previous day weighed on her heart.

Yesterday, she and Henry had been traveling back from visiting her best friend, Princess Alexandria, and her husband Phillip II, at their castle. Although both kingdoms have prospered since the defeat of despots like King George and the Evil Queen, bandits would always exist. And yesterday was the first time Emma actually met one. Or a dozen, actually. Rooster and his Happy Men or something. She wasn't quite sure as she was too busy panicking to pay much attention.

She didn't care about the jewels and gold they took, as she knew her own mother had been a bandit and sometimes people stole out of necessity, and she had more wealth than anyone deserved, but Henry objected on principle. He was to be a knight and eventually ruler of this kingdom and being a teenager with something to prove, he became overzealous. Not only could she not restrain him, but she couldn't help him when he became overwhelmed in the fight and injured. If not for the lead bandit proclaiming himself an honorable thief and ordering his men to stand down, Henry might have been mortally injured, just like his father, instead of suffering a few knicks and a broken finger.

The loss of Baelfire years ago had dealt a tremendous blow to both her and Henry, but at least he'd died a hero, protecting his family from an incursion at the royal summer "campgrounds" by ogres. While she had been deeply saddened by the loss, it wasn't like what she was feeling today, nor could she imagine the guilt that would crush her if she'd lost Henry yesterday. If it had been just them and a couple guards and less scrupulous thieves, Henry surely would have died, and Emma wouldn't have been able to stop it. It wasn't that she was terrible with weapons. She seemed to be a natural when she picked them up, but that was a rare occasion. She'd learned some archery and basic swordplay from her parents, especially as a young girl, but had put away such things as she grew up. And her parents hadn't pressed, as they relished the fact that Emma didn't _have_ to fight like they'd spent their 20's doing.

But now, Emma was regretting that. She might have been able to do something to help, but worse was that she'd found herself frozen, unable to act, except to plead. Promising treasure beyond the paltry amount in her carriage that day had been futile, nor had she promised justice or even a slice from a blade - even with her own son was in danger!

She'd been told she was supposed to be The Savior, had the Evil Queen's curse come to pass, but she couldn't imagine such a thing - never had been able to. She liked flowers, and bright colors, and singing. She knew how to disarm any man with a look and a swish of the hip, but she couldn't disarm a man with a weapon bent on hurting her. She'd never had to fight, so she didn't know how. Or at least the princess thought she could never imagine being a warrior, until last night's dream. She figured it was the natural result of the trauma she'd just suffered and her guilt at not protecting her son. It was so vivid, more like a memory than a dream, but she'd never seen such a strange world in even her most imaginative daydreams.

If she was like that savior in her dreams she could have protected Henry. She could have protected Baelfire. Even without the curse, shouldn't she still be that hero? But she couldn't see the potential for it in her. And while her parents were right - her family had fought enough for a lifetime - there was now a growing feeling in the pit of her stomach. It might be guilt, it might be some envy for the savior in her dreams, but either way, she was starting to feel like she wasn't living up to being a future leader for her kingdom. Her parents were getting on in years. What if there was another war? What did she know about battles and leading soldiers in a fight? Little, past a chess board. She wanted - needed - to be more for her kingdom, but even more so, her family. She was over 30 years old. She didn't want to feel like a little girl anymore. She wanted to be more.

" _I wish I knew what how to be the Savior I was meant to be. What I could have been for my family,"_ she thought before blowing out the single candle.

She stood up and looked to her parents and son with an almost melancholy smile. Her mother clapped her hands together. "What did you wish for, honey?"

Emma opened her mouth to answer but stopped short as she noticed the smoke from the extinguished candle begin to build, pouring out of the wick, almost like weightless liquid. It swirled outward, one smokey tongue wrapping itself around Emma, while three others curled around David, Snow, and Henry, and another floated out a window. "Emma!" cried her parent's in unison, accompanied by a shout of "Mom!" from Henry. For her part, the princess froze, as seemed to be her default reaction, as her vision was obscured and she felt light-headed. Make that light-bodied. She felt as if she were floating in a grey haze, winds whipping her hair wildly, seeing nothing, hearing nothing.

And then she was unceremoniously dumped to the soft, wet ground. She heard several other soft thumps close by and her vision quickly became unobscured. As the landing had hinted, she was no longer in the castle, but instead, an unfamiliar forest. A few feet away sat her family. "Henry!" she exclaimed. "Mommy! Daddy! Are you alright?!"

David pulled himself to his feet - not without a little groan when his aged joints protested - and then helped his wife to her feet. Henry had already leapt to his feet and moved to assist his mother in getting up. As much as she loved her gowns and corsets, Emma had to admit their impracticality. "Not to worry my dear, I've suffered far worse falls," replied the King, "but are you okay?" He and Snow patted their daughter and grandson in search of injury. They were both overprotective - especially with Emma, their little girl - who because of this overprotection had barely suffered a scrape or bruise during her childhood.

"I'm fine," replied Henry. "Mom?"

"I'm well," she answered, dusting off her skirts.

"Good," said Snow. "Because I think we have larger issues to worry about. Like where are we?"

Charming surveyed their surrounding. "It doesn't look like the Enchanted Forest… well, not exactly."

"It doesn't feel like it either," added Snow. "Like there's something different in the air."

"And it's night," remarked Henry.

"Indeed," said David. He peered into the woods. Luckily, it seemed to be a full moon. Its light made for decent visibility even through the treetop canopy. "Look, over there, a clearing." He pointed.

Snow nodded. "Let's go. Perhaps the stars will give us a hint as to where we've been transported."

"I'd rather know how," said Charming. He eyed his daughter. "Emma… just what did you wish for?"

Emma blushed. She felt embarrassed, being envious of a hypothetical dream version of herself, and that she'd wished at all. She has everything she could want, didn't she? She bit her bottom lip before answering. "I… may have wished I knew what it was to be the Savior. To be someone my loved ones, my kingdom, could depend on when they needed help," She kept her eyes on the path before her as they made the short distance to the clearing.

"Darling…" began Snow, taking her daughter's hand in her own. "We fought and we won so you would never have to shoulder that burden. And your kingdom knows what a kind, generous, fair-minded woman you've become. What a fine Queen you'll be someday. And you've always been there for your family for a kind word, or a laugh, when troubled."

"But I can't keep them safe," muttered Emma under her breath.

"What's that, darling?" pushed Snow.

Emma sighed before looking up at her mother. "But they can't depend on me to keep them safe. Bae died protecting me - okay, all of us - and Henry could have too, yesterday!" she exclaimed.

"I'm a prince of the realm, it's my duty to protect my family, Mom," replied Henry.

"No. As your mother, it's my job to protect you and I failed," rebutted Emma. Henry and her parents all opened their mouths to protest, but Emma held up a hand. "No. It's true. And I know we have soldiers to protect the kingdom - that our family has fought enough - but I was supposed to be some kind of Savior, and I'm wondering if I let myself off the hook, if I've somehow screwed up my destiny, just because it was easy to without a curse. I don't know, I know I'm being silly, but this dream I had last night… it made it seem so real, what I could've been. And now, this. What have I caused now?" The slightest hint of panic flavored her tone and Charming put an arm around his baby girl's shoulders.

"Don't talk like that. We fought to give you your best chance at a peaceful happy life, and we succeeded. You have the life we wanted for you, mostly free of hardship and strife."

"I suppose…" was all Emma could say to that. She knew what being a hero was and all the pain and loss that came with it. It made losing Baelfire seem like small potatoes, or a relatively normal misfortune, to what her parents and many others had suffered under the reign of the Evil Queen.

They came to a stop in the clearing and looked up to a clear night sky. "This isn't good," said David after a moment.

"Where are we?" asked Henry.

"I have no idea. I've never seen constellations like these, not even as far away Arendelle," replied Snow.

Emma paled. "What have I done?"

* * *

That afternoon in Storybrooke the Evil Queen had made another move in her never ending quest to take down the Charmings and company. She was like a dog with a bone in that way. She had procured the genie lamp, but before she could make her first wish Regina had realized that, them being one in the same, she could wish on it too. She, knowing the inevitable karmic repercussions of her evil deeds in the past, had wished that her evil half got exactly what she deserved. Which, at first, had seemed like nothing, although it did result in the Evil Queen retreating smugly. Little did she know that she'd be turned into a caged snake shortly thereafter.

Although it was a result of a wish, someone still had to have cast the spell, and so the heroes had regrouped at Granny's for an emergency meeting. Gold had rather tersely denied doing it before promptly hanging up on them, and Regina believed it. He'd been using her darker half to distract them from whatever he was up to and it wouldn't make sense to eliminate her when manipulating her was far more useful. No, it had to be someone else, and there was always the possibility that some powerful being from the Land of Untold Stories was lurking about.

"You better not leave that behind tonight or tomorrow snake kabobs are going the Daily Special menu," remarked Granny, eyeing the now serpentine sorceress.

Regina smirked. "Don't tempt me."

Emma crossed her arms. "That begs the question: why is the Evil Queen a snake but not Regina?"

"We already know that spells cast on her don't necessarily affect me. Your mysterious sword notwithstanding, I'd be undergoing a wardrobe change every time she cast one on herself if everything effected both of us. It seems to merely be we only share injuries," said Regina.

Snow nodded. "And she's not technically hurt."

"Perhaps we should take her to the the music shop and see if Papageno can make the Evil Cobra here dance," remarked Killian. Emma suppressed as smirk as Regina rolled her eyes.

"If you think mesmerizing that snake is going to get me belly dancing, pirate, then you've lost your mind in addition to a hand."

"I think we need to get the word out. See if anyone other than the dwarves saw anything," said Snow, ignoring the friendly jibes. She turned to Granny. "Can you get the emergency phone tree going, Granny? Leroy has probably spread the news across town by now, so any witnesses may think they don't need to report what they saw. Any details would be welcomed."

"Of course," the older woman replied.

Charming nodded. "Great. We'll meet back here in the morning. I think after today we could all use a little rest before facing whoever's decided to show up this week."

Snow took her husband's arm. "Agreed."

Emma opened her mouth to add something but instead shivered as an electric chill crawled up her spine. She saw Regina do the same in her peripheral vision. "Did you feel that?" asked the blonde. "Like somebody stepped on my grave."

Regina nodded. "More like magic."

"It's a metaphor," replied Emma.

"That was a simile, and yes, I did. But the question is, where did it come from?"

"Have you felt something like that before?" asked Henry.

"No," replied his older mother, "But it almost felt like at the fountain in New York but… not. Whatever it is, it was serious magic, in Storybrooke."

"And what do you wanna bet that it has to do with whoever snakified the Evil Queen?' added Emma.

"Fantastic," said Killian.

"I'll make sure to relay reports of anything that may be magic related too," offered Granny.

David nodded. "Thanks." With that, the group packed up what reference books and magical items they had, securely covered the snake cage with an old towel from Granny's Inn, and Snow gathered up Neil's baby supplies. They filed out the front door, prepared to retire to their respective homes for the night, before Hook took a couple quick steps ahead of the group, arms arm protectively as he came to a halt in front of them.

"Hold fast," he ordered in a hushed tone.

"What is it?" asked Emma, sidling up behind his right shoulder. The group stood frozen in the patio of Granny's, half lit by the diner's soft yellow lights.

"Across the intersection," he indicated with his chin. "I may spend most of my life on land now, but I've still got a pirate's eye for the horizon."

The rest of the group peered out and sure enough, there was a group of shadowy figures across the way, carefully making their way in their direction. "They don't seem in a hurry," remarked Henry. Unlike when he was 10, strangers in Storybrooke was no longer exciting. It was scary and in some ways he can understand why his Mom was so cautious of August and of course, Emma. Stranger danger took on a whole different meaning in this magical little town.

"No. They look… lost," added Emma, remembering kids new to group foster homes carrying themselves the same way - looking all around, caution in every unsure step - when first entering the home. These silhouettes' body language was just the same.

"Maybe they're late holdouts of the refugees in the woods?" suggested Snow.

"Let's hope so," replied David, his hand coming to rest on his gun holster.

"Well, only one way to find out," remarked Regina as she pushed past Killian. The rest of the group began to follow after. "This is my town, after all," she continued. She raised her voice so as to be heard by the newcomers. "I hope I should be welcoming you to town, strangers. So, how about we start off on the right foot with some introductions. I'm-"

"The Evil Queen!" came a cry from one of the figures, accompanied by gasps. Instantly, the lone adult male of the group sprang forward, his fur lined cloak flapping in the wind just as he appeared under a street lamp, his sword hand grabbing beneath his cloak. "What foul sorcery is this?!" he exclaimed. The rest of the group rushed up behind him, into the light.

"What the hell…" was all Emma could say to what she saw. Which was her family… but most certainly not.

* * *

Near the clearing, the aging bandit spotted a hill. Small, but just tall enough to likely afford a view of the surrounding landscape. "Best get our bearings, wherever we are," suggested Snow before beginning to make her way to the hill. Her family followed and began to trudge up the slope.

"What have I done?" repeated Emma, nearly in a daze.

She felt her father's strong hand on her shoulder. "You've done nothing wrong. You simply made a wish from the heart. Though I admit, I wish you had come to talk to us about it…" he said.

Emma shook her head. "This isn't a simple wish, this is powerful magic!"

"You couldn't have known," Snow reassured. "It's not like Blue answered it, which is really the only way wishes should come true for those of us without magic."

"How do you know it wasn't Blue?" asked Emma. She'd met her fairy godmother on a handful of occasions - mostly important birthdays and kingdom-wide celebrations, but that still only amounted to very little in the way of conversation.

"The Blue Fairy doesn't simply grant wishes. She councils and makes sure you truly want what you ask for with your whole heart - even the toughest choices," she said, thinking back to letting her mother die. "This was some other magic."

"Perhaps Emma's star candle? Could it have been imbued with some dark power?" suggested David.

"But who? The Evil Queen hasn't been seen in decades and the Dark One is safely locked away," replied Snow.

"What about Queen Aurora's witch? Malefi-something?" asked Emma.

Her parents shook their heads. "No," said Snow. "She too disappeared years ago after…" She sighed. "After her child went missing. No one has heard from her since." Emma didn't miss the troubled look exchanged between her parents, and while she'd like to ask, they had bigger problems at the moment, and she trusted that if it were important they would tell her. They had always been open and honest with her, even with bad news.

They came to a stop atop the hill and quickly caught sight of a glow of lights coming from the land beyond the trees. "Look, southwards," said David, pointing. "At least, I think that's south." He furrowed his brow. The roofs of a few tall buildings just peeked out over the treetops, but beyond that they couldn't determine the light source. It didn't flicker like the large bonfires that would be required to create that much light.

"It almost looks like dawn, but the glow is wrong," said Snow.

David nodded. "Troubling."

"But where else can we go?" asked Snow.

"A good question, my love," replied Charming.

"I think this is our best bet, David."

"Agreed." The King turned to his family. "I want you all to keep your eyes out as we head to this village. Look for sturdy fallen branches, large rocks… anything that could be used as a weapon," he instructed.

Henry dug something out of the inner breast pocket of his doublet. "I have my sling! I'm sure there will be stones along the way."

"Good."

The small group quickly made their way back down the hillock and picked their way through the mossy forest, towards the mysterious town ahead. After a few minutes, Snow stopped to test a couple of knotted branches she'd found on the forest floor against each other. Satisfied, she passed one to her daughter. Emma took it hesitantly and sighed. "This is all my fault…"

"Don't be silly," replied her mother. "If anything, your father and I have grown complacent. We used to always bear some kind of arms, ceremonial as they may be, but I fear we've grown complacent after so many years. We should have been prepared."

"Prepared for what? We're a peaceful kingdom. No, I'm the first danger we've had in years, all over a stupid wish," she chastised herself.

"Nonsense! It was a birthday wish!" exclaimed Snow in hushed tones. "Remember your 8th birthda? You were so upset that your wish to be a mermaid didn't come true."

Emma met her mother's warm eyes and couldn't help the soft smile that touched her lips at the memory. "Yes, I do. And you had to get Princess Ariel to convince me that fins or feet, it's family that matters."

"Exactly. Look, Emma, I don't know how this happened, but it came out of a desire to protect your family. Never apologize for that."

Emma shook her head. She knew that. "But it doesn't fix this terrible mess. I mean, who made my wish come true? I guess it matters if we are to get home, but if I hadn't made the wish at all… we wouldn't be here. It's not like I have magic, but still…" Emma rambled, missing the troubled look exchanged between her parents. Henry, pulling up the rear, and ever observant, didn't miss it though.

"Look!" said Emma as the trees thinned. She was ready to change the subject, and the change of scenery was a handy way to achieve that. The forest gave way to short plain grass, clearly tended by human hands. Beyond that were strange buildings with flameless lights glowing above their doors. A small dog barked from behind a white wooden fence and the group quickly moved on for fear of the dog alerting the wrong people to their presence. After passing between two buildings they were met with a path of smooth grey stone tiles that wound along in front of the buildings. What could only be deemed a road of some kind, fashioned from some hard black material, followed the same route, but was much wider, and featured a series of yellow dashes along the center.

"What in the blazes?" remarked Henry. "Grandma, Grandpa, you've been all over. Have you ever seen anything like this?"

"I'm afraid not, my boy," answered David. "But there are countless realms to be seen, more than a lifetime's worth."

"You think we're in another realm?" asked Emma, gulping nervously.

"It seems likely," replied Snow. The rock in Emma's stomach grew with her guilt and fear.

"Which way do you think, my Queen of Trackers?" Charming asked his wife. She may be aging, but her instincts were still hard to beat.

Snow cast her gaze about. "Well, it looks most people are home for the night that way," she said, pointing left. "And I know I may be getting on in years, but I definitely hear a little conversation the other way, around that bend in the road. If we're going to get answers, that's our best bet."

Charming nodded. "Then let's go. Best conceal your weapons everyone, we don't want to make a bad first impression in case the locals aren't friendly." The travelers nodded and stashed their clubs, and Charming his rock, under their cloaks.

They soon found themselves at a crossroads where the mysterious glowing lights were far more numerous and even saw a few people walking along on the opposite side of the road from them. More confusing was that while the villagers - strangely dressed villagers - gave them a once over whenever they saw them, they also always smiled and waved as if they knew them before going about their business.

"They seem… friendly," said Snow.

"Yeah, let's hope that continues. Maybe then we can get some answers and get home," said David. He saw a sign that glowed brighter still, in red, naming the business as "Granny's Diner". While he didn't know what a diner was, they could all smell food in the air. "Perhaps there. It seems like a tavern of sorts." Just as they began to make their way forward they saw a small group of men and women exit the establishment, though from this distance and in the dappled lighting it was hard to make out any features to suggest what kind of people they were. He strode forward, his family on his heels, projecting the carriage of a royal that he's succeeded in mimicking when he was still barely gone from being a simple shepherd boy.

The other group must have spotted them, and unlike the encounters with previous villagers, these people seem to have taken more of an interest in his family. He paused, trying to assess their temperament when a voice he never thought he'd hear again rang out. _"I hope I should be welcoming you to town, strangers."_

He felt Snow's hand grip his forearm tightly. She recognized it too. But it couldn't be...

" _So, how about we start off on the right foot,"_ the woman speaking stepped into a pool of bright light, revealing her face, and their worst fears, _"with some introductions. I'm-"_

"The Evil Queen!" Snow suddenly cried out.

* * *

 **Next:** _Our heroes meet._


	2. Meetings

**Chapter 2:** _Meetings_

On instinct the King sprang forward, protectively giving space ahead of his family, determined to be first in the line of fire. "What foul sorcery is this?!" he demanded. He heard murmuring from the group behind his old nemesis and pulled his only weapon from his cloak. He wielded the large stone as threateningly and kingly as one could. That is until the faces of the witch's cohorts were revealed.

"What the devil?" exclaimed a leather clad man with a hook for a hand.

Charming took a step forward, then another, making his way cautiously toward the Evil Queen, his family tightly knit together following on his heels. "Charming, look - what is…?" He heard Snow whisper at his side. That's when his eyes drifted from the man with the hook and the Evil Queen. And what he saw sent his world on a tilt. It was almost like looking in a mirror. There were twins for himself, Snow, Emma, and Henry, all dressed like the few denizens of this village they'd already encountered. Only different. In so many ways. Themselves younger, but Emma and Henry the same. And Regina, well, he hadn't seen in three decades.

Both groups stopped in the middle of the road, leaving about 10 feet between them. Emma quickly sidled up next to Regina. "What the hell?" she muttered, bringing her her hands to the ready. She knew by now that this was certainly magical and bullets may as well be spitballs when it came to fighting magic.

"I don't know. It… doesn't seem like dark magic," replied Regina quietly.

"Well, it sure is weird magic," remarked Henry, fascinated by the sight, especially the other him, dressed like a knight who was slowly swinging a sling of some kind by his side.

"The crocodile?" asked Hook.

"Psychological games are certainly his forte, but these aren't mirror opposites of us. Hook and I aren't even over there," answered Regina.

"No, it's us, but…" began David. "Not."

The other David, truly dressed as a royal, spoke up, his voice authoritative. "What have you done, you witch!"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Me? Nothing. Look. This is my town and I ask the questions. Who are you?"

The royal Snow stood straighter. "It's you who should be answering questions. You know who we are. Now why have you brought us here?" She eyed the strange doubles, especially the other Emma who held her hands the way only a spellcaster did, and seemed ready to defend the Evil Queen. "I should have known that even after decades you would never give up your quest for vengeance! We _will_ defeat you, always!"

Regina barked out a laugh. "With what, sticks?"

Princess Emma took hold of her father's arm. "Daddy…?" Sheriff Emma's eyes widened a bit at this timid version of herself. If this was trick, these weren't great replicas of herself and her family.

"Do not fret sweetheart, I shall always keep you safe," replied the King.

Princess Emma shook her head. "No, this is my fault. Me and my stupid wish!"

Regina and Emma exchanged glances. "You think?" said the blonde.

"Stranger things have happened in Storybrooke," replied Regina. "Well, maybe not stranger, but just as strange. Like when the author 'revised' our story."

"And wishes can be powerful things," added Snow. "But if you're us," she began.

But the Queen Snow was saying the same thing. "But if you're us…"

"They why are you so-" they continued in unison. "Old?" "Young?" Their conclusions differed as much as their perspective of what stood before them.

"Hang on," said Emma. "Let's assume for a moment that this is really us." She looked at the newcomers. "Are they from the future?"

"Clearly not, Miss Swan. If you haven't noticed, your double looks the same, as does Henry," said Regina.

"And we've never seen this realm," added Queen Snow. Her natural curiosity was getting past her defensiveness as this group of doubles didn't seem threatening.

"Wait, did you say Storybrooke?" Princess Emma finally asked.

"You've heard of it?" asked the the Sheriff.

"Only in my dreams." It was then that the princess realized that the strange devices and clothes in this town were like her visions.

"What dreams?" asked Storybrooke Henry.

"I've been having dreams of being the Savior as prophesied. In this land. And I made a wish…" she trailed off, not certain what to tell this double of her son.

"What kind of wish?" asked her far more aggressive double.

"A birthday wish to know how to be a savior… I guess. Sort of," she replied.

The other Emma's eyebrows shot up and she scoffed. "Why the hell would you want that?"

Regina put her hands on her hips. "Well, that explains it."

"Bloody how?" asked Hook.

"Look at them. They're what you would have been without the curse! That's why we've got a graying Queen and King standing in the middle of main street with a Henry and Emma identical to our own."

The older Snow eyed the group before her and how they seemed not just comfortable with Regina, but trusting her. "If you're us then how can you be working with the Evil Queen?!" cried Queen Snow.

"She's not the Evil Queen. Not anymore," replied her younger counterpart.

"How do know you're not under a spell?" the older replied.

Snow rolled her eyes. "Because I'm not!" She reached over and pinched Regina who yelped.

"Damn it, Snow! Seriously?!"

"See? Would the Evil Queen let me do that without turning me to ash?" asked Snow.

"Don't push it," growled Regina, but it lacked the danger in tone that the visitors remembered.

King David leaned over to speak quietly to his wife. "She certainly is the spitfire you were in our younger days."

"Are you calling me old?"

"No, just mellowed. Oddly, like the Evil Queen over there. Can you imagine not getting a fireball to the face for that?"

"Point taken."

"Look," the younger David spoke up. "Maybe you should just put down the sticks… and rocks and we can discuss this elsewhere. You have our word we will not harm you."

The younger Snow smirked. "You're just afraid the other me is gonna leave another scar on that pretty little chin of yours."

He put an arm around her. "Oh, yes. Terrified."

The King and Queen exchanged silent communication. "Agreed. A truce. But should any double cross happen, you shall regret it,"

"I wouldn't expect any less," replied the younger David.

"Good. With that settled, shall we go back to my place?" stated Regina.

The royal family looked nervous at this with Princess Emma hanging tighter to her father's arm and Henry stepping closer to his mother, as if on guard.

"Or… maybe not," said Regina.

"How about my place? It's got more room than the loft and is less… stepping into the lair. No offense," Emma added the last bit quickly.

"No," replied Regina with a heavy sigh. "I get it. Though it seems no matter how hard I work, I'll never be rid if the Evil Queen's legacy."

Her Snow patted her shoulder. "That's not true."

Regina gave her a weak smile, earning baffled looks from the newcomers. Whatever reality they were in it was impossibly strange.

The short walk was largely silent, with the group fresh from the Enchanted Forest eyeballing the other group. The younger Snow and Charming particularly noticing them sneaking looks at baby Neal.

"Home sweet home," announced Emma as she unlocked the front door to her house and pushed it open, waving everyone in.

"This is your home?" asked the timider Emma.

Emma shrugged. "I guess it's no castle, but it's ours," she replied, feeling ridiculous for somehow feeling slightly embarrassed. It wasn't messy, but it certainly wasn't a palace like she'd seen from the ruins of the wreckage of her parent's castle.

"You and Henry?" asked Queen Snow.

"Uh," began Emma, glancing at Killian, "Yeah." It wasn't a lie. Just an omission. They really didn't need to get into the whole True Love with a pirate thing just yet. Things were complicated enough. She felt Killian's hand brush her lower back and she instinctively knew he understood. That was a level of intimacy she was still getting used to. "Take a seat," she added, gesturing to the couch.

"I'll grab a few chairs," offered Killian, heading to the kitchen.

"I'll help," added Henry. He'd dealt with weird cursed versions of his family before, but having another him there, sizing him up was a whole different ball of wax.

The two quickly returned with enough seating, Killian guiding a chair under the Princess in a gentleman's gesture which seemed to be lost on the lifelong royal, used to such things, but not on his Emma. When they were all settled there was a pregnant pause until Regina and Queen Snow both began to speak at once.

"So, you said a wish-"

"How is it you're working with the Evil Queen-"

Both stopped abruptly, eyeing the other. Regina had almost forgotten that look of distrust in Snow's eyes, and the Queen couldn't remember seeing Regina so soft since she was a girl.

"Maybe, since they're the guests, we should start with how we ended up here, since quite clearly we can guess about where they came from?" suggested Killian. "Good form and all."

"Right," remarked Emma. She sighed. She didn't need this insanity. "So… let me guess. No curse in your reality?"

Queen and King exchanged glances, surprised at this Emma's sense of leadership and their counterparts taking it all in stride. "Oh, there was a curse, but it was thwarted. We're not sure how, though," replied Queen Snow.

"As best we can figure from the Imp's ramblings, the Evil Queen could not procure the final ingredient for the curse."

"She couldn't do it," mumbled Regina, though the royals either ignored it or didn't notice.

"And so, knowing she could not be trusted to live out her life in exile peacefully we found a cuff imbued with the ability to block her powers and drove her to the farthest reaches of our lands. We haven't heard from her in decades," added King David.

"Well, that's where our histories diverge, then," remarked the younger looking Snow.

"The curse happened in your world, then?" asked Queen Snow.

The other Snow nodded.

"She was less of a monster than me and still got the harsher punishment. Sounds about right," grumbled Regina quietly.

"You're not a monster," Snow said, putting a hand gently on the older woman's knee.

"Perhaps not anymore," replied Regina.

"But she cursed you then?" exclaimed King David.

"And she's saved us plenty more times since," rejoined the younger David. The others nodded in agreement.

"She's changed," added her Henry, earning a small smile from his Mom. His other self gave him a hard look to accompany the baffled ones from the rest of the royal family.

"But you were still cursed," Queen Snow pressed. "That's why you're so young."

The younger looking Snow sighed. "God's, it's complicated. We were cursed, for 28 years, stuck in time living the same day over and over, no memory of our real lives."

"But Emma escaped the curse, in the tree?" said King David, grasping his daughter's hand. She clutched back, feeling plenty out of sorts for this being her supposed wish.

"Yeah. I grew up here. Didn't even know who my parents were until _I_ made a wish on my 28th birthday and Henry found me," she gave her son a smile, "and he brought me here. Still took me almost another year to believe it and break the curse." She paused, considering something as she looked at the princely looking version of her son.

Apparently Princess Emma was having the same thought as they both exclaimed simultaneously, "But wait, how is Henry is your world then?"

"Great. Swan in stereo. Just what I needed," deadpanned Regina.

"Who is my Dad in your world?" asked Storybrooke's Henry.

"Sir Baelfire," replied his counterpart proudly.

"Mine too, only he went by Neal here. Baelfire isn't really a name around here."

"Where is he?" asked the other boy who while trying to keep his royal dignified disposition, his eagerness to see any version of his father bled through.

This quieted the other version, Emma taking up the reins of conversation. "He died saving us - everyone actually. He died a hero."

"Ours too," the Princess responded quietly.

"But how did he get back to the Enchanted Forest? How would the curse change that?" asked Emma.

"Who knows. Maybe Pan knew the curse hadn't happened, so he made sure Neal escaped to the Enchanted Forest instead of here," said Regina. "And not really our most pressing concern at the moment." She waved a dismissive hand.

Emma huffed a near snort through her nose. "No crap. We're in the weeds with pressing concerns. But what else is new?" Regina tilted her head in acknowledgment of Emma's point.

The family from the Enchanted Forest all exchanged looks at Emma's course language and seeming easy acceptance of mortal danger - among other things.

"This is normal for you?" asked Queen Snow in a worried tone only a mother could manage.

"Unfortunately, yeah, pretty much," replied the blonde.

"But we have faith We'll have our peaceful happy ending one day," added the younger Snow. She took Regina's hand to give it a quick squeeze. "All of us." Regina shot her an appreciative, if melancholy, smile.

This really dumbfounded the new arrivals. "And that's another thing! How are you two… like that? I mean, after all the heartache that witch has put us through?" King David practically growled. "And you - she _actually_ cursed you! Why is she not banished? Let alone, acting like she's family!"

Regina raised an eyebrow, her emotionless mask sliding into place. Even if this was not _her_ Charming - god, when had that happened? - but it still hurt after everything she'd done to be a better person. "I'm not the Evil Queen.'

"Well, you sure look like her," David replied.

"She's redeemed herself," the younger David shot back tersely.

"Not to mention I literally pulled the Evil Queen out of me," said Regina, adding under her breath, "Though that may have been a mistake…"

"Because you miss it?" asked the King.

Regina narrowed her eyes. " _No_. Because she is _literally_ now a separate person rampaging around town screwing up everyone's lives!"

"Well, a snake now," said Emma.

" _For now,_ " shot back Regina. "Anyway, the point is, if I had just sucked it up and kept her in me, under _my_ control, then none of this would be happening. Well, maybe the ghosts of fairytale past would be here, but that would be it." At the still confused looks from their visitors, the brunette went on to explain about Hyde, Jekyll, and the formula.

"You really somehow separated yourself from the Evil Queen?" asked Queen Snow in a hushed tone. It didn't seem possible - anything was possible with magic, of course, but that Regina would ever want to. That she might turn good again. The group opposite Snow nodded. "So… you're her? The _real_ Regina from all those years ago?" She sounded years younger than her looks would indicate. It was a tone of voice that Princess Emma and her Henry had never heard before, like she was that 10 year old again.

"I've always been the real Regina. I can't pretend I didn't do always all those awful things. It wouldn't be fair to those I've hurt. But I've been trying to be the best version of me, for my friends and family," she finished, looking to the Charming clan and settling with a smile at Henry. "And especially my son."

"WHAT?!" was the exclamation that came from all the newcomers.

"We… kinda share custody," explained Emma.

"But why would you… with her? And Baelfire agreed to this?" asked Princess Emma.

The other Emma sighed, rubbing one temple with her middle and index fingers. "It's complicated. I was a kid - 17. No family. Pregnant in prison. Neal, er, Baelfire had abandoned me-"

"She gave me my best chance," said Henry.

" _That_ was your best chance? Away from Mom and with _her?"_ exclaimed soon-to-be Sir Henry.

"She's my Mom too! She never cared where I came from and never stopped loving me when she found out! I couldn't have asked for better!" Henry responded, clearly annoyed with the judgy tone coming from his other self. It rubbed him the wrong way particularly because he still regretted acting that way when he was younger and saw the world in absolutes. Regina smiled softly at him, an expression especially not lost on the older looking Snow. She never thought she'd see that look again.

"Do you… do you think our Regina may have changed too?" asked Snow hesitantly.

"Honestly?" Regina tucked a stray lock of hair behind her right ear as she mulled it over. "Depends on if she had something - someone - to change for. And believe in her. I've had Henry, and then the rest of the Charmings and… another family, to give me all that. And it's still been the hardest thing I've ever done - am still doing. Without that," she shook her head. "I wouldn't hold my breath." The greying Snow looked crestfallen. "Sorry," she added.

Storybrooke's Snow sat up and leaned forward. "But that doesn't mean she still can't! I mean, she's voluntarily left you guys alone for over thirty years, right? And she didn't kill her father! That has to mean something, right? Have hope and maybe when you get home you can help her too!"

"Or it could mean she's dead," said Regina flatly. At Snow 'not helping' look she simply shrugged. "What? You do hope, I do realism. It's why we work."

"Well, I agree with Grams," said Henry. "Sorry, Mom," he added with shrug and a smirk.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Henry," said Regina warmly. Truth be told, she appreciated all the Charming's sentiment, even if she (and Emma, really) were the only true cynics in their ragtag family.

"Well, whatever the deal in with their Regina isn't really relevant to getting them back home," said Emma.

"Or keeping the same from that hooded menace," added Killian. "Villains don't take timeouts, love."

"No shit," replied Emma, which got her gasp from her princessy doppleganger, and a cry of _"Emma!"_ from the geriatric version of her parents.

Her actual mother leaned in to whisper to her husband. "Were we ever really that-"

"Easily offended?" finished David. "I don't know. But I think this world's more common use of colorful language may have rubbed off on us?"

"Or maybe it's just that we're not actually approaching our 60's, technically?" chuckled Snow. Any attempt - not that there was one forthcoming - at an apology from Emma was interrupted by the savior's ring tone for Leroy. _LEEEEEROY JEEEEENKINSS!_

The Charmings not of this world jumped at the sudden noisy voice. "It's okay, it's just a piece of… machinery in this world!" Henry reassured quickly. "A communication device."

The newcomers didn't look so sure, but did trust any Henry, so simply watched Emma seemingly talk to no one. "You'll get used to the talking phone soon enough. Bloody handy, actually. At least when the party you're trying to reach actually answers," Killian jibed at Emma. She simply rolled her eyes in response.

Emma frowned as the tinny voice of Leroy squawked at her. "Wait… hold on. What do you- dammit Leroy, slow down. She's who?" A pause. "No, she's fine, I'm looking at her right now… right. No, she can't be split again - I think?" She shook her head. "Yeah, fine. We're on our way."

The Sheriff hung up and and sighed. "Well. Things just keep getting better!"

"What's happened now?" asked Regina.

"Looks like these guys weren't the only people brought over by the Princess' wish."

"What?" exclaimed the other Emma. She was strangely embarrassed by the fuss her silly wish had caused.

"Do you think the other you had a good monthly juice cleanse to keep the wrinkles at bay?" Emma asked Regina. The former Queen simply groaned.


End file.
